Week 1: Choose your piece!
Welcome to the Lisztomaniac Challenge — and the start of our Liszt adventure!
Franz Liszt is one of the most exciting, imaginative, and influential composers in the piano repertoire. When many people hear “Liszt,” they immediately think of impossible virtuosity, flying octaves, and the great showpieces.
And yes, some participants will be taking on those works during this challenge!
But Liszt wrote music for pianists of many different levels, and this challenge is about exploring all corners of his music.
Whether you’re learning a Consolation, a short piece from Years of Pilgrimage, a Liebestraum, a Hungarian Rhapsody, or even one of the great virtuoso masterpieces, there’s a place for you here.
This Week’s Goal
Choose one Liszt piece, or one excerpt, to stay with throughout the challenge.
A few ideas:
- A piece you’ve always wanted to learn
- A shorter Liszt work that feels approachable
- A beautiful excerpt from a larger dream piece
- A piece that challenges your sound, imagination, or technique
- One of the big virtuoso works, if you’re feeling bold
This Week, Share:
What piece did you choose?
Why this piece?
- What draws you to Liszt’s music?
- Is there a musical or technical challenge you hope to work through this month?
If you’d like, post a recording of where you’re starting from, even if it’s just a rough first read. We’d love to hear it.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll explore Liszt’s sound world together and make meaningful progress, wherever we are in our musical journey.